Take as much Russian territory as possible, using remaining unused
fighter and infantry to make any fortuitous attacks, blitzing in and out
of empty territory if possible

Move 3 infantry from Finland/Norway into Karelia

Land as many planes as can reach in Western Europe or on newly built
carrier (this new carrier deployment rule comes in handy)

Land bomber and fighter in Egypt attack in Libya

Move Algerian infantry and artillery into Libya

Consolidate tanks into Eastern Europe

Move Germanyís land units to Eastern Europe

Build a couple of infantry and an artillery (if purchased) in
Southern Europe, everything else in Germany.

Germany Overall Strategy

Keys to winning:

1. Get rockets

2. Get heavy bombers

2. Never lose Western Europe

3. Keep your Med fleet alive

4. Take Africa

5. Donít lose your planes needlessly

6. Take Russian territory every turn

7. Pressure Russia if you donít get respect

Rockets Ė Thatís Right, Rockets

Rockets are literally the first thing you can try to do with Germany,
and the tech is significantly improved from former rules. Iíd
recommend buying three tech rolls. This gives you a pretty good chance
of getting it, with minimal risk of having wasted IPCs by rolling
rockets with 2 dice (overkill). With your Southern Europe rocket
positioned safely in Balkans, you can then hit both Russian factories
and the UK every turn. The rockets canít be shot down, and as long as
you donít lose them, theyíll continue to drain the Allied economies
every turn. If you donít get rockets on turn one, continue to spend
10-15 IPCs on the tech rolls until you do get them.

Heavy Bombers

Hopefully, this section will be irrelevant, because you wonít be
playing with Heavy Bombers, because they are so unbalancing to the
nature of the game. They are the single biggest flaw in the game. I say
they are a flaw because they completely unbalance the game. They are so
dominant because once you get to the point that you have enough heavy
bombers, you canít be beat, unless the other side also has a stack of
heavy bombers. Get heavy bombers quickly, and spend every IPC (not being
spent on the minimum for defense) on more bombers. Then, you should
strategic bomb UK and Russia to smithereens. The guiding principle is
that playing conventionally might guarantee you 15 additional incoming
IPCs per turn, but going after heavy bombers will allow you to deny your
opponents more than 15 IPCs. So you take an economic loss in order to
impose a much greater economic loss on your opponents.

Hold Western Europe

France should stay locked down. You always know with exact certainty
the most that the Western Allies will be able to bring against you (and
since they canít make coordinated attacks, your job is that much
easier), so always try to have just enough to dissuade them from taking
the chance. The reason is that you donít want them scooping up 6 IPCs
from you, and then forcing you to commit troops to take it back, and you
also donít want to give them the chance to make troop trades with you.
The UK and US would both love to trade one of their infantry for one of
yours and giving them an opening in Western Europe allows them to do
just that. Force them to send their troops the longer route through
Russia, where it takes more time for them to get on the front and then
you can deal with them there on your own terms. While infantry are the
conventional defense unit, in those early rounds you want to maximize
the number of newly built infantry that you can send east, so tanks and
planes make an excellent mobile defense. The planes can still fight from
there, and the tanks usually arenít being used for anything on the
Eastern front. If something critical develops, the tanks can race east
in time for most opportunities. Try to maintain the infantry pipeline
going 100% east or south (to Africa) as long as possible.

However, if Western Europe is at risk of falling due to the Allies
gaining an upper hand on the game as a whole, then make sure youíve
got enough tanks in Eastern Europe to use in a counterattack, if the US
& UK land a lot of troops in Western Europe.

Africa Ė Gateway to Economic Parity

The Mediterranean fleet is often the most unappreciated asset the
German player has and is typically lost early on. Destroying the fleet
becomes more difficult with the new rules since battleships take two
hits to destroy. This fleet is critical because it allows the Germans to
maintain a presence in Africa (short of buying a factory in Egypt once
they take it).

Africa itself is of paramount importance. Its eleven IPCs are enough
to make the difference between winning and losing (even more so for the
Axis, since they start out with the inferior economic position). With
the Sahara division, stretched Atlantic, and stronger Mediterranean
fleet, Germany is better positioned to take Africa and the Western
Allies less equipped to take it back. Egypt should fall on turn one
which hopefully will open the door to the rest of the continent.
Depending on the Alliesí reaction, no further troops may need to be
sent down there, and if so, keep them in Europe. However, if the Allies
do contest Africa, then Germany has to maintain the pipeline via the Med
transport of troops to maintain their authority in Africa. Itís much
harder for the Allies to reinforce any invasion they make into Africa
and so Germany will likely be able to gain the upper hand. If the UK
does make the investment of a factory in South Africa, then that means
they are committed to building two units a turn. This must be matched by
the Germans via their transport, which will likely turn the Congoís
killing fields into a hotly contested battlezone.

Luftwaffe Ė German Aerial Supremacy

The Luftwaffe is arguably two fighters stronger than in the first
version. You begin the game with one more, and the Russians are less
well positioned to kill one on their first turn. Furthermore, since
Germany has fewer naval attack options on their turn one, the Luftwaffe
is likely to remain around in strength for some time. This is hugely
important. Aside from greatly aiding your ability to retake
Russian/German territories each turn on the Eastern Front, the Luftwaffe
also makes a great addition to Western Europe defense and can keep the
Allied fleet ďhonestĒ, by forcing them to stay in a giant convoy
with plenty of defensive firepower. That said, donít waste your planes
in poor trades, but only send them into a naval battle or against AA
fire if it is an attack that is overwhelmingly in your favor. Also,
remember that you can always roll to get long-range air, if that extra
mobility would allow you to do an important attack.

Back and Forth with Russia

It can become tiresome and draining to continually retake Russian
territories

or your own territories that Russia took on their turn. Remember
though that it is

draining for Russia as well. The main thing involved is the
economics. You have to keep funds flowing to the treasury by taking
those territories. A big advantage that you have in these back and forth
battles is your air force. You can usually send a couple of planes in
with a couple of infantry and take out one or two defending infantry
with minimal casualties. Itís much harder for the Russians (with only
two planes) to retake the same territories on their turn. If you forfeit
the chance to take those territories back, your economic forecast will
be bleak indeed.

Demand Respect

Russia would prefer to not have to worry too much about a real German
threat. As long as your main German army stays in Eastern Europe, Russia
is guaranteed a couple of turns of warning before they truly have to
worry about putting up a serious defense. Meanwhile, they can focus on
Japan and try to hold them off. If Russia doesnít respect Germanyís
power, and sends the bulk of their army to India or China, youíve got
to force them to return to the Motherland by moving your main German
army up. You canít allow Russia a free hand to deal with Japan and
feel like youíre sitting comfortably. Youíre in this together with
Japan and have to make sure that Russia keeps the bulk of their army in
Caucuses and Russia itself.

Gran Zeppelin Ė A German Aircraft Carrier?!

If heavy bombers arenít in the game, an aircraft carrier purchase
on turn one (along with the new carrier deployment rules that allow you
to immediately place preexisting fighters onboard a newly purchased
carrier) allows you to defend the Baltic fleet and save it from certain
destruction. This also make the Allies think long and hard about when
and how they are going to invade either Western Europe or
Finland/Norway, because you would have a large navy as well as your air
force opposing them in a counterattack. Your carrier also allows your
transport to survive, which means that the UK canít be left undefended
or you could actually invade England! If the UK player doesnít
consider this usually impossible risk, they could be in for a big
surprise.

Germanyís Newfound Flexibility

In the former game, every IPC was direly needed immediately in order
to hold Eastern Europe and properly threaten Karelia. With the added
distance between Germany and Russia due to the new territories, the
pressure is greatly reduced. There are many more degrees of freedom and
you can almost get lulled into a false sense of security with the
greater buffer space between you and the Allies. But donít be fooled.
This only makes decisions more difficult because there are more of them.
In the previous edition your actions were far more mechanical and
expected, while now you may have to put serious thought into each move,
as more options now exist.

In order to take Russia quickly, you would need significantly more
IPCs than you have, but to keep from losing Germany, you need
significantly less IPCs than you have. That differential of
discretionary money can be used to purchase tech or invest into other
fronts (such as Africa), but make no mistake- youíre still fighting
the uphill battle as the Axis and you canít afford for the income
disparity with which you start the game to continue for very long. In
other words, donít waste your discretionary money, but spend it wisely
on fundamental things like infantry, or in special situations, such as
going for long range air if it would allow you to maul a huge undefended
transport fleet or make the difference in taking a capital.

Donít Forget Roadblocks

Remember that since you now have a larger fleet, there may be
opportunities where you can use them as roadblocks, should they survive
a couple of rounds. A well placed transport or sub can stop an entire
Allied task force dead in the water! If the Japanese navy comes around
through the Med, it could serve the same function. Also, if youíve got
Baltic naval units and the Allied fleet moves to unload transports in
Karelia, then on your turn you could place a single naval unit between
the Karelian sea zone and the UK sea zone and essentially trap the
Allied fleet by cutting them off with a roadblock.

What to Do With Your Battleship

Battleships were good before (as long as you werenít thinking about
buying one), but now theyíre even better. They have the ability to
absorb the first hit for free in any naval battle (they are turned on
their side) and if you win they just get righted and no harm is done.
Along with their battleship bombard, this means you should use your
Mediterranean battleship every chance you get. On turn one it can attack
the British destroyer. From then on it can be used to bombard Russians
advancing into Ukraine, or even dart through the Suez Canal to assist in
Persia or South Africa. Try to use it every chance you get. If itís
bombard is aimed at an enemy infantry unit, thatís killing (4/6*3 IPCs)
= 2 IPCs per turn, a nice pickup, especially if that allows you to take
a territory without suffering enemy fire.

Tit-for-Tat with Russia Ė How to Raise the Cost of Doing Business

Another strategy to consider is how you should retake contested
territory on the Eastern Front. You can take it back by the minimum
(which is definitely how you should take it back on the previous map),
or you can take it back with a little more occupying force. For
instance, letís say Russia has 1 infantry in Karelia, Belorussia, and
Ukraine. Your main army is in Eastern Europe and you want to take all
three of these territories. Youíve got 2 planes that can support in
each battle (6 planes total), and are wondering how many infantry you
should move in with the planes to guarantee youíll take the territory.
Assuming you donít want to lose the planes (a safe assumption), then
moving a single infantry into each of the three territories, along with
the two supporting planes, will mean that Russia will likely hit with
one of their infantry and deny you that territory. So to guarantee youíll
take all three, you really feel as though you need to send two infantry
into each territory, which would likely result in you taking each
territory, killing all three Russian infantry and only losing a single
German infantry.

However, instead of moving two infantry into each territory, consider
moving three. The net result of the battles will likely be the same, but
youíll end the turn with likely eight infantry spread among three
territories. Now itís Russiaís turn and youíve just raised the
bar. Unlike you, Russia only has two planes that it can use in these
back and forth battles, which is a huge offensive handicap for these
draining engagements. If Russia chooses to focus on only one or two of
the battle, then youíve just denied them what would have otherwise
been easy income. If they try to take back all three Russian
territories, they are going to have to commit a lot of troops (perhaps
even premium artillery and tanks). Youíve just turned up the dial a
notch and forced Russia to match you. Instead of a slow dripping that
will bleed Russia white, youíve now opened up an artery. On your next
turn when you counterattack again, youíll be killing premium units and
leaving well defended territories again. Meanwhile Russia will be forced
to send newly built units directly into battle to retake those
territories rather than sending them east against the Japanese.

What to Do With Your Eastern Front Army Ė Hold or Advance?

A key go/nogo decision is what are the US & UK doing. If the
Western Allies are concentrating on putting troops on the ground in
continental Europe, then youíre probably not going to have the
opportunity to move your main army up to threaten Caucuses, and your
best chance of winning is for Japan to crawl up Asia and threaten Russia
from behind. Since your army isnít going to move up to threaten
Caucuses, you might as well use them to bleed Russia each turn. If the
US & UK are focused on holding off Japan though, then you should
concentrate on minimizing your losses, so that you can move your main
army up against Caucuses and force the Russians to stay home and play
defense against you.

It may sound counterintuitive, but if youíre not getting pressure
by the Western Allies, youíve got to charge against Russia. If you are
getting pressure by the Western Allies, then you should sit back and
just bleed Russia, while Japan charges ahead.

Here are the fundamentals underlying this strategy:

1. Early on between you and Russia, youíve got more IPCs and
can force them to match you virtually one for one. In that
situation, you want to up the bar as quickly as possible before the
Western Allies can get as involved.

2. It forces Russia to leave Japan somewhat alone.

3. Youíve got more planes, which are key to this type of
fighting.

4. If youíre going to have one territory open to counterattack
and your enemy only has a few units they want to use to
counterattack with, then you might as well have lots of territories
open to counterattack and make them divide their forces, or give up
an opportunity. (?????)

One of your most important decisions will be whether or not, or when
to move your main army up against the main Russian army, which will
likely be in Caucuses. This move up does a number of things:

1. Keeps more Russians at home

2. Takes a territory like Ukraine in force (usually 1 or 2
Russians there and they get killed at minimal German loss)

3. Prevents the Russians from retaking Ukraine (denies them the
income)

4. Forces Allies to make suboptimal buying decisions (Russia may
buy 4 tanks to place in Caucuses in order to make sure they hold it)
and suboptimal moves (Britain or US may fly their fighters there
from India or Western Europe theater, in many cases giving up the
chance to fight in another out of the way battle).

5. Puts Germany in the drivers seat

The risks are:

1. Puts German tanks out of reach of counterattack into Western
Europe if needed

2. Usually Germany has precious few infantry to move up and is at
risk of getting crushed on Russia's turn

3. Enables Russia to take a slot pull and see if they can get
lucky against a stack of few infantry and a lot of tanks

The Meta-Strategy: Opportunism and Cooperation

Obviously, every game is different and you must evaluate your
situation in its own unique light. While there are overriding optimal
strategies, understand that some strategies are situational strategies.
If the US is focused on a strategic bombing campaign, and the UK is
focused on Africa or India, then the German player has to recognize that
the Allied weakness is then going to be the

Eastern Front against Russia and take full advantage of it. While the
Axis usually work completely independently, and envy the Allies their
ability to cooperate so closely, remember that there are instances where
a coordinated Axis move can be a huge assist.

For instance, if Germany moves their main army up and takes the
Ukraine in force, but is worried about a counterattack that might just
barely succeed, Japan can reduce those risks by having put a carrier or
two in the Red Sea on their prior turn along with 2-4 fighters. Those
fighters can then land in the Ukraine on Japan's turn, fortifying the
German position and making the odds much worse for the Russians should
they consider attacking.